3 Reasons Why You Should Share Your Event Planning Secrets

Event planners need to share their secrets. Yes, really! During my time as an event planner, I’ve noticed one major aspect of this industry: it’s guarded and secretive. Try to ask a fellow event planner about a design idea of theirs and you’ll probably get a politician sort of answer, where they skirt around the question and talk about something else. You say, well what about books? Aren’t event planning books designed with all the need-to-know secrets? Nope! Books and event planning certifications are chock-full of how to run a wedding and technical advice, but they contain no realistic details or help when it comes to a planning and designing an event.

What gives? As many other event planners will tell you, the event planning industry is oversaturated with people, making competition a huge deal. Well, let me just say this, event planners, there’s enough people getting married out there for everyone to have a slice of the pie. If my Facebook feed is any indication of the weddings to come, there will be plenty of need for event planners. But if you need more convincing to get you to share your secrets, here are three additional reasons!

Reason #1- The Right Client

Event planners all have unique styles and techniques for how they plan/design weddings. A client might approach you with an idea for their wedding, or have eclectic requests that simply don’t fit your style of design. What do you do? Do you force it and try to make it work? Well, if you knew another event planner’s style and design, you could recommend the client to try their services instead and vice versa.

Don’t force yourself to work with a client that isn’t a good fit for your business. Define your niche and what makes you, you in the event planning industry!

Reason #2- Raise the Bar

Thanks to Pinterest, everybody thinks a professional event planner is irrelevant. This only makes the argument for sharing your secrets stronger!  When you share ideas, trends, and styles with your fellow event planner, you are setting the bar—no one else!

Work together and take the event planning industry back from the DIYer. Start working together to do so, today.

Reason #3- Inspiration

Although you might share your idea with a fellow event planner, we’re all individuals and will have a different way of creating something. What you do to gain clients, decorate a reception area, or stay organized is what works for you, but it can also be inspiration for someone else to find what works best for them. Sharing secrets can help you become someone’s inspiration!

There’s plenty of fish in the sea, so don’t be afraid to share your secrets with your fellow event planners. When you do, not only are you helping the industry grow stronger, you’re honing your skills and standing out in the crowd as a voice of the industry. Here at Inspherio, we’re an open book! Stay tuned to hear all our secrets on how to be successful in the event planning industry. Or to stay a step ahead, join Inspherio. It’s the business management solution designed exclusively for the event planning industry. We’ll help you plan your success. And did we mention, it’s free for 30 days?

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Email Marketing Tips | Part Two

Sending Email Marketing Campaigns can be a great way to stay in touch with your clients, leads, associates, etc. In order for your email campaigns to be successful, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Include a Call To Action

Although not every email is about selling something, there should be a clear goal or purpose of the email. This Call to Action should be connected to your subject line in some way. For Example, you could add a link to your website, blog, Facebook, etc that your reader could go to see more information and make an action based on the email.

Communicate Efficiently
When writing an email, there is no need to change your writing style as if you were writing a textbook. Instead, you should communicate as you would in a casual conversation. A good test is to read the email to yourself aloud to see how it sounds. 

Keep Your Message Simple
Keeping your readers engaged is vital in order to prevent your emails from being deleted. Successful emails should not be unnecessarily wordy or complicated. Keep in mind that you have high competition for your readers' attention.

Be A Resource
In order to gain your readers' respect, you need to provide valuable information, whatever that may be. Readers will quickly loose interest if your emails become predictable or lack useful information.

Stay Tuned for More Email Marketing Tips & Tricks throughout the coming weeks.  

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10 Things to Stop Doing Now

Photo Credit: J E Theriot

The following article was written by Jeff Haden & originally appeared in Inc. 


Happiness--in your business life and your personal life--is often a matter of subtraction, not addition.  Consider, for example, what happens when you stop doing the following 10 things:

1. Blaming.

People make mistakes.  Employees don't meet your expectations. Vendors don't deliver on time.
So you blame them for your problems.
But you're also to blame. Maybe you didn't provide enough training. Maybe you didn't build in enough of a buffer. Maybe you asked too much, too soon.
Taking responsibility when things go wrong instead of blaming others isn't masochistic, it's empowering--because then you focus on doing things better or smarter next time.
And when you get better or smarter, you also get happier.

2. Impressing.

No one likes you for your clothes, your car, your possessions, your title, or your accomplishments. Those are all "things." People may like your things--but that doesn't mean they like you.
Sure, superficially they might seem to, but superficial is also insubstantial, and a relationship that is not based on substance is not a real relationship.
Genuine relationships make you happier, and you'll only form genuine relationships when you stop trying to impress and start trying to just be yourself.

3. Clinging.

When you're afraid or insecure, you hold on tightly to what you know, even if what you know isn't particularly good for you.
An absence of fear or insecurity isn't happiness: It's just an absence of fear or insecurity.
Holding on to what you think you need won't make you happier; letting go so you can reach for and try to earn what you want will.
Even if you don't succeed in earning what you want, the act of trying alone will make you feel better about yourself.

4. Interrupting.

Interrupting isn't just rude. When you interrupt someone, what you're really saying is, "I'm not listening to you so I can understand what you're saying; I'm listening to you so I can decide what I want to say."
Want people to like you? Listen to what they say. Focus on what they say. Ask questions to make sure you understand what they say.
They'll love you for it--and you'll love how that makes you feel.

5. Whining.

Your words have power, especially over you. Whining about your problems makes you feel worse, not better.
If something is wrong, don't waste time complaining. Put that effort into making the situation better. Unless you want to whine about it forever, eventually you'll have to do that. So why waste time? Fix it now.
Don't talk about what's wrong. Talk about how you'll make things better, even if that conversation is only with yourself.
And do the same with your friends or colleagues. Don't just be the shoulder they cry on.
Friends don't let friends whine--friends help friends make their lives better.

6. Controlling.

Yeah, you're the boss. Yeah, you're the titan of industry. Yeah, you're the small tail that wags a huge dog.
Still, the only thing you really control is you. If you find yourself trying hard to control other people, you've decided that you, your goals, your dreams, or even just your opinions are more important than theirs.
Plus, control is short term at best, because it often requires force, or fear, or authority, or some form of pressure--none of those let you feel good about yourself.
Find people who want to go where you're going. They'll work harder, have more fun, and create better business and personal relationships.
And all of you will be happier.

7. Criticizing.

Yeah, you're more educated. Yeah, you're more experienced. Yeah, you've been around more blocks and climbed more mountains and slayed more dragons.
That doesn't make you smarter, or better, or more insightful.
That just makes you you: unique, matchless, one of a kind, but in the end, just you.
Just like everyone else--including your employees.
Everyone is different: not better, not worse, just different. Appreciate the differences instead of the shortcomings and you'll see people--and yourself--in a better light.

8. Preaching.

Criticizing has a brother. His name is Preaching. They share the same father: Judging.
The higher you rise and the more you accomplish, the more likely you are to think you know everything--and to tell people everything you think you know.
When you speak with more finality than foundation, people may hear you but they don't listen. Few things are sadder and leave you feeling less happy.

9. Dwelling.

The past is valuable. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from the mistakes of others.
Then let it go.
Easier said than done? It depends on your focus. When something bad happens to you, see that as a chance to learn something you didn't know. When another person makes a mistake, see that as an opportunity to be kind, forgiving, and understanding.
The past is just training; it doesn't define you. Think about what went wrong, but only in terms of how you will make sure that, next time, you and the people around you will know how to make sure it goes right.

10. Fearing.

We're all afraid: of what might or might not happen, of what we can't change, or what we won't be able to do, or how other people might perceive us.
So it's easier to hesitate, to wait for the right moment, to decide we need to think a little longer or do some more research or explore a few more alternatives.
Meanwhile days, weeks, months, and even years pass us by.
And so do our dreams.
Don't let your fears hold you back. Whatever you've been planning, whatever you've imagined, whatever you've dreamed of, get started on it today.
If you want to start a business, take the first step. If you want to change careers, take the first step. If you want to expand or enter a new market or offer new products or services, take the first step.
Put your fears aside and get started. Do something. Do anything.
Otherwise, today is gone. Once tomorrow comes, today is lost forever.
Today is the most precious asset you own--and is the one thing you should truly fear wasting.

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As Jeff explains in this article: the most important part of beginning something new is taking the first step.  
Inspherio is here to help you take that first step to improve your business.  You will be able to manage your business with just one tool, which will reduce your stress and work load, so that you can focus on the things you love.  Inspherio helps you eliminate excessive paperwork & gives you more time to actually Achieve your goals for your business!  

Check Out our Free Trial to Learn More!

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It's More Important to Be Kind than Clever

Photo taken from Flickr
Originally by JD Hancock

This Article was originally posted in the Harvard Business Review Blog Network by Bill Taylor

One of the more heart-warming stories to zoom around the Internet lately involves a young man, his dying grandmother, and a bowl of clam chowder from Panera Bread. It's a little story that offers big lessons about service, brands, and the human side of business — a story that underscores why efficiency should never come at the expense of humanity.

The story, as told in AdWeek, goes like this: Brandon Cook, from Wilton, New Hampshire, was visiting his grandmother in the hospital. Terribly ill with cancer, she complained to her grandson that she desperately wanted a bowl of soup, and that the hospital's soup was inedible (she used saltier language). If only she could get a bowl of her favorite clam chowder from Panera Bread! Trouble was, Panera only sells clam chowder on Friday. So Brandon called the nearby Panera and talked to store manager Suzanne Fortier. Not only did Sue make clam chowder specially for Brandon's grandmother, she included a box of cookies as a gift from the staff.

It was a small act of kindness that would not normally make headlines. Except that Brandon told the story on his Facebook page, and Brandon's mother, Gail Cook, retold the story on Panera's fan page. The rest, as they say, is social-media history. Gail's post generated 500,000 (and counting) "likes" and more than 22,000 comments on Panera's Facebook page. Panera, meanwhile, got something that no amount of traditional advertising can buy — a genuine sense of affiliation and appreciation from customers around the world.

Marketing types have latched on to this story as an example of the power of social media and "virtual word-of-mouth" to boost a company's reputation. But I see the reaction to Sue Fortier's gesture as an example of something else — the hunger among customers, employees, and all of us to engage with companies on more than just dollars-and-cents terms. In a world that is being reshaped by the relentless advance of technology, what stands out are acts of compassion and connection that remind us what it means to be human.

As I read the story of Brandon and his grandmother, I thought back to a lecture delivered two years ago by Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, to the graduating seniors of my alma mater, Princeton University. Bezos is nothing if not a master of technology — he has built his company, and his fortune, on the rise of the Internet and his own intellect. But he spoke that day not about computing power or brainpower, but about his grandmother — and what he learned when he made her cry.

Even as a 10-year-old boy, it turns out, Bezos had a steel-trap mind and a passion for crunching numbers. During a summer road trip with his grandparents, young Jeff got fed up with his grandmother's smoking in the car — and decided to do something about it. From the backseat, he calculated how many cigarettes per day his grandmother smoked, how many puffs she took per cigarette, the health risk of each puff, and announced to her with great fanfare, "You've taken nine years off your life!"

Bezos's calculations may have been accurate — but the reaction was not what he expected. His grandmother burst into tears. His grandfather pulled the car off to the side of the road and asked young Jeff to step out. And then his grandfather taught a lesson that this now-billionaire decided to share the with the Class of 2010: "My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, 'Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever.'"

That's a lesson I wish more businesspeople understood — a lesson that is reinforced by the reaction to this simple act of kindness at Panera Bread. Indeed, I experienced something similar not so long ago, and found it striking enough to devote an HBR blog post to the experience. In my post, I told the story of my father, his search for a new car, a health emergency that took place in the middle of that search — and a couple of extraordinary (and truly human) gestures by an auto dealer that put him at ease and won his loyalty.

"What is it about business that makes it so hard to be kind?" I asked at the time. "And what kind of businesspeople have we become when small acts of kindness feel so rare?"

That's what's really striking about the Panera Bread story — not that Suzanne Fortier went out of her way to do something nice for a sick grandmother, but that her simple gesture attracted such global attention and acclaim.

So by all means, encourage your people to embrace technology, get great at business analytics, and otherwise ramp up the efficiency of everything they do. But just make sure all their efficiency doesn't come at the expense of their humanity. Small gestures can send big signals about who we are, what we care about, and why people should want to affiliate with us. It's harder (and more important) to be kind than clever.
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Bill Taylor is co-founder of Fast Company magazine and author of Practically Radical: Not-So-Crazy Ways to Transform Your Company, Shake Up Your Industry, and Challenge Yourself, published January 4, 2011.

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Your Desk is a Double-Edged Sword

As a business owner, you must spend a great deal of time at your desk in order to build your business.  In this modern era, everything is moving online.  Your business prospects and colleagues are all on Facebook, your banking can be done remotely, and if you are ahead of the curve, you also use a web-based program to manage your business entirely.  

Although there are obvious reasons that it is very necessary to spend a considerable amount of time at your desk in order to run your business more efficiently, a recent article on Inc.com by Jessica Stillman cites several recent scientific findings that spending extended periods of time at a desk contributes to poor health and also poor memory.  
The idea that sitting at a desk all day is bad for your health is old news, but the fact that it can actually decrease your working memory is a little frightening.  The British Psychological Society's Research Digest explains that in a series of findings, working memory was much more accurate for all age groups while walking at their chosen speed.  

What does this mean for your business?  Obviously, you want to be in the best physical and mental condition in order to run your business appropriately.  Depending on your personality and preferences, you may be able to incorporate more activity to your typical business day through several different ways.  Not everyone can just go out and buy a Bicycle Desk and others may not be cut out for a Donald Rumsfeld style Standing Desk.  

It is important to take short breaks to walk around in order to boost your mental health and recharge your batteries so to speak.  Studies suggest that it can especially help to take a stroll outdoors for as little as 5 minutes to boost your mood for the day.  These simple activities throughout your day can help boost your overall performance in a similar way that taking a shower helps give you good ideas.  Sometimes when you step back and separate yourself from what you are focusing on, you can see the big picture more clearly.

Of course, when you do come back to your desk it also helps to use efficient programs to run your business.  If you are not already using the all-in-one solution to manage your business, you can try Inspherio for Free.
Inspherio is an All-in-One business management tool for event industry professionals.

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